Depletion of limited working memory resources may occur following extensive mental effort resulting in decreased performance compared to conditions requiring less extensive mental effort. This “depletion effect” can be incorporated into cognitive load theory that is concerned with using the properties of human cognitive architecture, especially working memory, when designing instruction. Two experiments were carried out on the spacing effect that occurs when learning that is spaced by temporal gaps between learning episodes is superior to identical, massed learning with no gaps between learning episodes. Using primary school students learning mathematics, it was found that students obtained lower scores on a working memory capacity test (Experiments 1 and 2) and higher ratings of cognitive load (Experiment 2) after massed than after spaced practice. The reduction in working memory capacity may be attributed to working memory resource depletion following the relatively prolonged mental effort associated with massed compared to spaced practice. An expansion of cognitive load theory to incorporate working memory resource depletion along with instructional design implications, including the spacing effect, is discussed.

Research on embodied cognition acknowledges that cognitive processing is tightly coupled with bodily activities and the environment. An important implication for education is that learning can be enhanced when the brain, body, and environment mutually influence each other, such as when making or observing human actions, especially those involving hand gestures and manipulation of objects. In this narrative review article, we describe the evidence from six research avenues that can help explain why embodied cognition can enhance learning and instruction. Through the exploration of these six interconnected research pathways, we aim to make a significant contribution by proposing innovative directions for learning and instruction research, all rooted in the principles of embodied cognition. We establish a direct link between the six research pathways and embodied phenomena, both in the contexts of making and observing human movements. When making human movements, the research avenues explaining the learning benefits due to these movements are physical activity, generative learning, and offloaded cognition. When observing human movements, the avenues researching these phenomena are specialized processor and signaling. Lastly, the research avenue social cognition is integral to both making and observing human movements. With originality in focus, we also include research that has not been traditionally associated with embodied cognition or embodiment. This article offers comprehensive discussions, substantiated with evidence and influencing features, for each of these research avenues. We conclude by outlining the implications of these findings for instruction and charting potential directions for future investigation.